


A Book Can Be A Whole Other World

by AngelWithAStory



Category: Adventure Time
Genre: ADVENTURE TIME IS AMAZING, I Was Bored Okay!, My First Fanfic, This Is What Happens When I'm Bored
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-12-14
Updated: 2012-12-14
Packaged: 2017-11-21 01:30:12
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 16,941
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/591907
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AngelWithAStory/pseuds/AngelWithAStory
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When Princess Bubblegum creates a serum and pours it over a book all the characters from The Land of Aaa join the Land of Ooo. Since normal isn't really a big thing in Ooo, it's hard to imagine it being even less normal, right?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. How Can It Be Strange, When It Was Never Normal To Begin With?

**Author's Note:**

> I came up with this when I was extremely bored in school and thinking about cartoons. No specific relationship but a few hints and some. Also, I spelled Fiona like that, so I'm sorry if it has two 'N's. Enjoy!

They were all sitting around the table, enjoying a picnic lunch Princess Bubblegum had set up for them all. Everyone was there; Jake, Finn, LSP, BMO, Lady Rainicorn, and a few civilians who lived in the Candy Kingdom. Finn was listening to Princess Bubblegum talking about the serum she’d almost finished.  
“It can turn two dimensional objects into three dimensional possessions.” She boasted proudly. Finn listened with genuine interest.  
“So, if I drew a square on a piece of paper and I poured some of the serum over it?” Finn asked, trying to comprehend it.  
“The square would become a 3D cube.” Bubblegum finished, thinking about how wonderful it would be when she finished it. Suddenly the temperature dropped. A loud crack of thunder sounded from outside. Simultaneously, Jake and Finn leapt up out of their seats and ran out onto the balcony. As they had predicted, the Ice King was gliding towards them, holding something out in his hands. Finn immediately ran up to him and kicked him. The Ice King dropped what he was holding and fled, leaving Jake and Finn a little confused. All the other guests came out onto the balcony and looked at Finn and Jake with interest.  
“OH MY GLOB?! WHAT WAS THAT?!” LSP demanded, in her usual dramatic manner.  
“Ice King.” Jake answered, trying to make sense of what had just happened. Princess Bubblegum came up to them and spied the object. She picked it up and held it in her hands, inspecting it.  
“What did you find PB?” Finn asked, getting over his shock.  
“Ice King must have dropped this. It looks like a book.” Bubblegum commented, opening it to the first page.  
“Well, I’m leaving. Bye PB. I’ll see you later.” LSP said, making sure everyone heard. All the Candy Kingdom citizens agreed and departed.  
“I really want to finish my serum guys.” Princess Bubblegum apologised, keeping the book in her hands. “I hope you don’t mind.”  
“No problem PB. We’ll see you later.” Finn reassured, walking out of the palace and returning home to their tree house. The sky darkened outside, so both Finn and Jake decided to go to sleep. Night settled over Ooo. Nothing stirred. All was quiet.

Princess Bubblegum held up the serum in triumph. She’d spent all night perfecting it. Hurriedly, she drew a square on a spare piece of paper. One drop of the serum was placed in the picture. A small *pop* later, the square was turned into a cube. PB held the cube in her hand, still not believing that she’d done it. Peppermint Butler came to the door, pulling her thoughts away from science.  
“Breakfast is ready Princess.” He declared, bowing slightly.  
“Aright. Hold on.” Princess Bubblegum said; a little annoyed. Nevertheless, she put the beaker back on the table and walked out the door, shutting it behind her. What nobody knew was when she turned to leave, her hair hit the beaker. The swish of the door made it sway harder. The beaker tumbled on its side, spilling the serum all over the Ice King’s book (which Princess Bubblegum had placed on the counter immediately after coming into the Lab, and completely forgot about.) The book shone for a moment and with a small *pop* burst open. 

Finn and Jake were leisurely sitting on their sofa, playing video games on BMO.  
“HELP!” someone cried from outside. Jake and Finn sprung into action. They ran outside, located the sound of the plea for help and ran towards it. The closer they got, the louder the shouts. Suddenly, they stopped dead in their tracks. There was a monster. There was someone crying out for help. But there was already someone defeating the monster. The monster fell backwards, landing with a loud thump on the ground. The other figure bent down and talked to the person in distress. Luckily, Finn and Jake were close enough to hear what they said.  
“Don’t worry, you’re safe now. Run along.” They said kindly. It was a girl’s voice. They crept closer, just as the figure was standing up. At the exact same moment, they saw each other. Finn starred at the girl in amazement, the girl stared back at Finn in shock. Jake fixed his eyes on the girl’s companion and growled. The companion was a cat, who hissed back at him. The girl looked fourteen, and was wearing a light blue top with a navy skirt. She had a light green/ dark green backpack on her shoulders and a pure white hat on her head, which looked exactly like Finn’s but had tall rabbit ears instead. The girls’ cat was off-white with fawn patches.  
“Who are you?” the girl asked, tightening her grip on the crystal sword in her hand.  
“Finn the Human.” Finn replied, shifting his grip on his own sword, a battered and well-used gold sword. “Who are you?”  
“Fiona. Hero of the Land of Aaa.” She said defiantly. Finn and Jake looked at each other.  
“We need to go to Bubblegum.” Finn said hurriedly. Fiona and her companion, Cake, looked at each other in bewilderment.  
“What are you doing in Aaa?” Cake asked, confused.  
“Oh, this is bad.” Jake whispered to Finn.  
“No, this is the Land of Ooo.” Finn corrected, adding to both party’s perplexity. “You need to come with us.” Finn said, urgently.  
“Why should we?” Cake asked, weary of these new people, they’d never seen before.  
“Just trust us!” Finn pleaded. He took a few steps and looked over his shoulder. Neither of them had moved an inch.  
“How do we know you aren’t going to attack or something?” Fiona demanded, raising her sword a little. Finn took off his backpack and threw it to them.  
“All my weapons are in there. Now do you trust us?” Finn asked, gesturing for them to follow him. Cake seized the backpack and held it close to her. Fiona took a step forwards and Cake followed her example. Finn sighed with relief and continued walking towards the Candy Kingdom. 

“Fascinating.” Princess Bubblegum murmured to herself. Finn and Jake were standing side by side with Fiona and Cake. Fiona didn’t like how this girl was treating her as if she was simply a painting, and not a real person. “It seems that the serum I created also worked on the words in the book.” Bubblegum explained, looking at Finn and Jake.  
“So what?” Finn asked, nervous of the girls standing beside him.  
“So, the serum then transformed the words into real life people, thus creating Fiona and Cake.” Bubblegum explained, pacing the floor.  
“We didn’t come from a book.” Fiona said irritably. “We live in the Land of Aaa.” She repeated for the tenth time.  
“You see, the Land of Aaa was written about in this book.” Princess Bubblegum said to her, holding up the, now blank, book Ice King had dropped at the picnic. “Your characters were transformed. I think it’s safe to assume that every other character in the book, or person in Aaa, has also been transformed into people in our Land of Ooo.” She elaborated, looking at Fiona and Cake with immense interest.  
“Can we ever go back to Aaa?” Cake asked, crossing her arms.  
“Possibly. Maybe if I can reverse the serum I created, it will turn you back into the written characters, and take you back to Aaa.” Bubblegum suggested.  
“How long could that take?” Finn inquired.  
“I’m not sure. It took me weeks to perfect the serum in the first place. It might take even longer to reverse It.” she answered. “Don’t worry. I’ll start work on it immediately.” She consoled, leaving to go back to her lab. Finn, Jake, Fiona and Cake were left standing rather awkwardly.  
“So...” Fiona started, trying to break the tension. “I guess we’re staying for a while.”  
“Well, I think we should get to know each other a bit better then.” Jake said formally.  
“Okay,” Cake began, looking at Jake suspiciously. “I’m Cake. My BF’s Lord Monochromicorn. I like going on adventures with Fiona.”  
“Wait! Lord Monochromicorn?” Jake asked, wide eyed. “My girlfriends called Lady Rainicorn.” He said enthusiastically.  
“Well, then you are then! One double already.” Cake said in triumph.  
“I wonder if we’ll see anyone else from Aaa?” Fiona thought aloud.  
“Probably, if what PB said was right. She usually is.” Finn consoled. 

All four of them walked into Finn and Jake’s tree house loudly. All of them were reminiscing loudly about the monster they just defeated.  
“Dude, you so got him!” Fiona said loudly, pointing Finn.  
“No way! You were the one who kicked him in the gut!” Finn protested.  
“Only ‘cos you punched him first!” Fiona countered.  
“Did you see his face when he hit the ground? It was priceless!” Cake said, re-enacting the look the monster wore when he fell.  
“Yeah that was AWESOME!” Jake shouted, punching his fist into the air.  
“Man, I'm hungry.” Finn stated, walking into the kitchen.  
“Me too,” Jake agreed, following Finn. “You know what I’m in the mood for? An everything burrito.”  
“You’re always in the mood for an everything burrito.” Finn complained, but still he opened the cupboards and pulled out everything.  
“What’s not to like? It means that I never have to pick what to eat. You want some girls?” Jake called to the other room. Fiona stood in the doorway.  
“Okay, sounds good. Don't worry Finn, Cake is exactly the same.” Fiona reassured. Cake made a sound of indignity, which made Fiona laugh. Once they had all eaten, they slumped down on the sofa. Everyone was too full to talk, having eaten quite a lot of 'everything burrito' just a few minutes ago. Night fell quickly so Finn and Jake lit up the room.  
“Do you mind if we crash out on the sofa? It looks like we'll be her for a while anyway.” Fiona asked timidly, sitting up straight.  
“Of course, we'll get you some blankets.” Jake said warmly. Him and Finn went up the stairs and returned with different kinds of covers, ranging in thickness. Fiona's hat was lying on the sofa next to her and she was brushing out her long, straight blonde hair. Finn and Jake dumped the blankets on the floor in front of them.  
“Night you two. Sleep tight.” Finn said kindly, turning to walk up the stairs.  
“Thanks Finn, we really appreciate it.” Fiona replied, pulling a thick blanket towards her. The two boys disappeared up the stairs and Cake spoke up.  
“What are you doing? How do we know they're really who they say they are? This could be someone planning a trap!”" Cake hissed angrily to Fiona.  
“Calm down! No one could set a trap this complex.” Fiona whispered back to her. “And look, do they seem like they want us dead? No, and if they did, they would have killed us on sight.”  
“How do we know they aren't going to get us in our sleep?” Cake replied angrily.  
“We don't. But we have to trust them. And anyway, if they do kill us, they’ll only be killing themselves so it's worthless.” Fiona reasoned, getting annoyed with Cake. “Look I don't want a fight. Have some faith in them, and go to sleep.” was the last thing said on the manner. 

Fiona woke the next morning, desperately hoping that the previous day was just a dream. 'it was nothing but a bad nightmare' she told herself soothingly, 'there's no Land of Ooo, and I'm still in Aaa.' footsteps came down the stairs and two familiar faces shattered every hope Fiona and Cake had of this just being all a dream. Finn and Jake looked well rested and alert.  
“Morning ladies.” Finn said brightly.  
“Morning.” Fiona replied, sitting up and shaking her head. All of her hair floated down way past her shoulders, reaching the floor. She stood up and her hair trailed behind her as she walked over to the table where she put her hat the night previous. Fiona delicately brought all her hair back to her head by swirling all of it into a bun. She held it all in place with a hair bobble and slipped her hat over her head, tying it securely under her chin. Cake woke and sat up lazily.  
“Morning Fiona.” she slurred. Cake looked over at Finn and Jake, and screamed briefly before coming to her senses. “Oh, it's you. Sorry, I haven't woken up yet.” Cake apologised, deeply embarrassed.  
“Don’t worry.” Jake said a little disgruntled. “Should we go see PB, see how she's getting on with that serum?” Jake asked nervously, looking around for approval.  
“Okay.” They all agreed. Within the hour, all four of them set off and were walking towards the Candy Kingdom, Finn and Fiona riding on Jake and Cake’s back. The sky clouded over, even though it was a nice clear day. A large figure came out of a parting between several clouds and the wind howled mercilessly. Fiona's hat came loose and was blown away in the gale force wind.  
“Oh no!” she shouted, trying to grab it but missed by half a centimetre. Her hair came out of the bun flowed out behind her (still kept in the bunch), annoying her greatly. The figure floated above them, close enough for them to see him. It was the Ice King. Finn and Jake knew it, but of course, Fiona and Cake had no idea who this man was. The Ice King looked down on them curiously. He spied Fiona and was taken aback. Ice King had never seen this girl before, and he assumed she was simply a princess, like almost every other girl in Ooo. Ice King swooped down and stole Fiona, holding her close so she couldn't get free. Cake was furious. She tried to attack the Ice King but he froze her with a flick of his wrist.  
“NO! LET ME GO! FINN!” Fiona screamed, struggling against the Ice King’s grip.  
“FIONA!” Finn shouted back, feeling powerless against the Ice King, since he was already almost gone. He vanished from sight, and all the clouds lifted. Suddenly the scene looked normal, except that there was Cake, frozen stiff and Fiona wasn't there. Without even looking at each other, Finn and Jake seized Cake and ran full out to the Candy Kingdom. Peppermint Butler let them straight through and they ran into Princess Bubblegum in one of the corridors. She looked puzzled to see them.  
“Finn, what's wrong?” she asked, allowing him to catch his breath.  
“Ice King. Froze. Cake.” he explained, gasping like a fish. “He. Kidnapped. Fiona. Flew away.” Finn was red in the face and exhausted. Princess Bubblegum took the Cake-sickle in her arms.  
“Don’t worry Finn, I'll get her unfrozen.” she reassured him, surprised at the weight of the ice block she held in her arms.  
“We need to get Fiona.” he said, urgently but still breathless.  
“Catch your breath Finn. She'll be fine for a few minutes, just get your breath back.” Bubblegum said in a nurturing manner.  
“Bubblegum, you've been kidnapped by Ice King!” Finn said in exasperation. “The fear you felt, will be ten times worse for Fiona, she doesn't even know who he is!” Finn reasoned, stood up straight, having caught his breath back. Jake seemed to share Finn’s thoughts, he grew big enough for Finn to ride him and prepared himself to run again, fast.  
“I guess you're right. Go on then, go be the hero.” she said encouragingly. Finn leapt onto to Jake's back and Jake ran like the wind. 

Meanwhile, fear seemed to be the only emotion Fiona could feel. This unknown person was clearly kidnapping her, and she had no clue where they were going. A large mountain loomed ahead of them and this man headed straight towards it. The mountain didn't look as if it was made out of rock or earth like any other. Fiona realised that the mountain was made out of ice! Pure ice! A large triangular window was cut out of the side and they both flew right through it. The inside was just like a house, only so much colder. There was a bedroom off to one side, some gym equipment and musical instruments in the far corner, but what really stood out was a section of the room, caged off. It reminded Fiona of a prison, and one that did not look inviting. They touched down on the floor and immediately, Fiona was taken over to the prison cell. The man opened the door with one hand, and pinned Fiona to his side with the other. She was pushed inside unceremoniously. Her backpack was yanked off her back as she fell to the ground.  
“You don't need this silly backpack, do you?” the man said. He owned a very cold voice, almost as cold as ice itself. But something stood out in his voice, almost a girly quality to it, which just added to Fiona's unease.  
“LET ME OUT! YOU CAN'T DO THIS! LET ME OUT!” Fiona screamed, defenceless. She was trapped, and she knew it. There was no escape. The man locked the prison door securely and looked at Fiona curiously.  
“What princess are you?” he asked, turning his back on her.  
“I'm not a princess! NOW LET ME OUT!” Fiona shouted in disgust.  
“That’s what they all say. Now be quiet princess, I'm going to check on Gunter.” the man said dismissively.  
“I'M NOT A PRINCESS!” Fiona shouted again, as the person disappeared out of a door. The cold of the place started to get to Fiona. She more than ever to be home. Back in Aaa, where there weren't mad people who kidnapped her. Where she knew everyone and everyone knew her. With these thoughts in her head, Fiona huddled against the back wall, defeated. The man returned after a while.  
“I'm back, my princess.” he said, a slight giggle in his voice. That sentence sent bad shivers down Fiona's spine.  
“Who are you anyway?” She spat at him, already hating him immensely.  
“I'm the desirable Ice King.” he replied vainly  
“If you’re so desirable, why are you kidnapping me?” Fiona challenged.  
“Because Finn and Jake always take my princesses! I hate those two.” the Ice King grumbled. “But don't worry my sweet, they won't take you.” he promised, making Fiona back against the wall even more just to try and get as far away from him as she could.  
“I hope they do!” she said defiantly, sounding braver than she felt.  
“WHAT?!” the Ice King shouted indignantly. “Don’t you like being here?!”  
“No! You've kidnapped me! Why would I enjoy it here?!” Fiona shouted. The cold was making her feel very ill. What was worse, she had a blanket in her backpack, but that had been taken away from her.  
“Well, don't worry princess, soon you'll be my Queen and then you'll love me.” he said confidently.  
“What makes you think I'll agree to be your queen?!” Fiona shouted in disgust.  
“You won't have a choice.” he answered, completely nonchalant about it.  
“YOU CAN'T DO THAT!” Fiona screamed, partly fear, partly anger.  
“Be quiet princess! You've woken Gunter.” he complained. A kind of quack split the air. It came from the room which Ice King had just come from.  
“I’M NOT A PRINCESS! HOW MANY TIMES?!” Fiona yelled, sinking further into fear and desperation. The Ice King simply ignored her protested and left the room, not looking at her. Finn where are you? Fiona thought desperately. She did not like the idea of being that monsters wife. She was only thirteen! He was obviously evil, anyone who acted like that must be. No decent person would kidnap a young girl and put her in a prison in their ice palace. Fiona curled up into a tight ball and tried not to let all her emotions consume her. She was stuck inside a small prison with no way out. There were no stairs leading down to ground level. The only way out that she could see, and that was the way they entered: through the triangle window, roughly 550 feet above the ground. Even if I do get out of this prison, what's the chance me actually leaving? She asked herself miserably, and if, by a complete fluke, I survive falling to the ground, what's the chance of me getting back to the tree house alive? Who knows what creatures are out there! Suddenly, anywhere seemed preferable to here. Ice King came back holding a white gown in his hand.  
“What do you think of this dress?” he asked, holding it up so she could see it clearly “it might be a bit big on you though, it belonged to my last fiancé.” he said apologetically.  
“I'd rather die than marry you!” Fiona said defiantly. For a moment, the Ice King looked deeply hurt. Fiona almost felt sorry for him, but then remembered she was being held here against her wishes and he was trying to marry her by force. The hurt look faded pretty quickly from his face.  
“Well, I suppose there's no point keeping you here if you really don't like me that much.” he said cunningly. Despite herself, Fiona thought for a moment that she was going to be set free. “So, I guess I'd better put you in the ice dungeons.” Ice King finished.  
A scream erupted inside Fiona. Ice King stood up, unlocked the prison and made a step towards her. Fiona froze. But suddenly, a crazy idea popped into her head. It couldn't end well, but it was an idea. She leapt to her feet and stepped forwards. The Ice king moved another step towards her, clearing the doorway as he did so. Fiona built up all her courage. She pushed the Ice King roughly to the side and ran right out the prison door. The Ice King, caught off guard, fell over sideways and watched as Fiona ran past him. She shut the prison door, which was heavier than she thought, and ran to her backpack. The prison door key was sitting next to the bag, so she seized it and turned back around. Ice King was standing over her. Fiona had another crazy idea, but this one was dangerous as well. She ran under his outstretched arm and jumped up onto the window ledge. The ground seemed such a long way down. Fiona rested her hands on the edges of the window and took a deep breath. She held out one foot and prepared to jump. Hurried footsteps sounded behind her. Fiona threw caution to the wind and jumped. Her hair flapped above her and the ground loomed faster. She braced herself for impact but it never came. Instead, something caught her backpack and she was pulled to an abrupt stop. The Ice King had stopped her and took her back inside the Mountain. He flew back in through the window and anger flared up inside Fiona – since she was so nearly free.  
“GET OFF ME!” Fiona shouted, struggling to get free of his grasp. The Ice King dropped her and she automatically reached into her backpack and pulled out her crystal sword. The blade shot out and she regained her fighting stance. The Ice King looked at her wearily.  
“What princess are you?” he asked again.  
“How many times? I'M NOT A PRINCESS! I'm Fiona the Heroine from the Land of Aaa. Now I demand you let me go!” Fiona said bravely, holding her head up high.  
“A heroine? That's just as good as a princess.” the Ice King stated.  
“What?! You're a mad-man! Let me go free!” Fiona repeated, her voice rising.  
“No! You will be my bride!” the Ice King said surely.  
“Who says?” Finns voice rang out. Fiona swung around and saw Finn clamouring into the room through the window.  
“Finn!” Fiona shouted in relief. She tried to take a step forwards but her legs wouldn't move. The Ice King had frozen her feet to the ground and ice splintered up to her knees, keeping her from smashing the ice. Panic settled comfortably within Fiona's mind. The Ice King plucked her off the ground again, knocking the sword out of her hand. The sword retracted and landed as a small crystal. Ice locks formed around Fiona's wrists.  
“Get away from her Ice King!” Finn shouted, drawing his own sword from his bag.  
“You always rescue the princess! Not this time!” Ice King declared childishly.  
“I'm not a princess!” “She’s not a princess!” Finn and Fiona protested simultaneously. The Ice King looked from Finn to Fiona and finally made the connection.  
“You two are a team, aren't you?” he asked stupidly.  
“You could say that.” Fiona spat at him, squirming to get away from him.  
“Let go of her, Ice King.” Finn declared, pointing the sword at him.  
“No.” the Ice King shouted, flying down the spiral stairs, hidden from sight. He went down into the depths of the ice palace. The air was much colder. Several cells were built right into the wall, one with the door open. The Ice King swooped towards that one and threw Fiona in. He double locked the door and stepped back. He made sure Fiona saw him snap the key in half and swooped back up the stairs, probably to dispose of Finn. But Finn was ready. He had climbed back out of the window and was sitting on Jake, ready to attack when the time was right. They already had a plan: Finn would beat the Ice King and Jake would find Fiona. It was a brilliant plan, and the first phase went brilliantly, the Ice King passed the window and Finn jumped in, sword ready and raring for a fight. Jake slipped in and snuck along until he found the spiral stairs.  
Fiona, on the other hand, had just about given up all hope. She thought there was no way Finn could find her, get her out of here and then both of them, and escape without getting caught by the Ice King. She kneeled in her cell, staring hopelessly out through the bars. In sheer anger, she hit the ground with her fists and the ice locks shattered into tiny splinters. She stood up in shock and saw Jake’s face filling her vision.  
“Jake!” she exclaimed happily. He put a finger to his lips and she realised she was too loud. “It’s pointless, he snapped the key, there's no spare.” She said in a hurried whisper, gripping the bars in front of her.  
“Don’t worry, key hand.” he whispered proudly, showing Fiona his hand that he transformed into a key. Silently, Jake tricked the lock and the door swung open. Fiona bear hugged Jake as soon as she was free.  
“Thank you, thank you.” she whispered over and over again.  
“There’s no time for that now, hurry.” Jake hissed, taking Fiona's hand and creeping up the stairs. The end of the staircase came into view and they peered into the room. Finn was dodging shards of ice the Ice King was throwing at him. Jake signalled for Fiona to climb on his back and he speedily stretched across to the window. Fiona extended her hand and pulled Finn up onto Jake’s back alongside her. They escaped flawlessly. The Ice King rushed to the window and declared his vengeance on them, as they got away from there as quickly as they could. As soon as the ice mountain was out of sight, Jake let his passengers get off. Fiona's feet touched the ground and she hugged Finn furiously.  
“Oh thank you, thank you!! I thought I'd be trapped forever! He was talking about weddings and dresses! It was terrifying!” Fiona recalled, shuddering.  
“Don’t worry, he's gone, he won't get you while we're here.” Finn promised reassuringly.  
“It was so cold. He took my backpack and kept asking me what princess I was. He never listened to a word I said; he just kept going on about a wedding and when I would be his wife!! Has he kidnapped anyone else?” Fiona asked, feeling incredibly sorry for those girls.  
“Yeah, quite often. Some princesses he's kidnapped way more than once.” Finn said darkly. “That’s why Jake and I are here; to stop him and all the other evils in Ooo.”  
“That’s what me and Cake do; just I don't think our villain is that crazy.” Fiona said softly.  
“Who do you have in Aaa?” Jake asked curiously.  
“We have an Ice Queen who goes after the princes. For some reason she seems to prefer Prince Gumball.” Fiona told them, finally understanding how they all must feel/have felt.  
“Who’s Prince Gumball?” Finn asked.  
“He rules the Candy Kingdom.” she replied absent-mindedly. “He super smart at science and is always inventing stuff.”  
“I think we just found Princess Bubblegum's double.” Jake said proudly. The bushes nearby rustled and Prince Gumball emerged. Of course, to Jake and Finn, this was someone they'd never met before, but to Fiona, this was one of her closest friends.  
“Gumball?” she asked in disbelief. It was impossible to ignore the slight blush that appeared on her cheeks, but no one pointed it out.  
“Fiona? Is that you?” Gumball asked, plucking a leaf out of his hair. “Can you explain what's going on, who are these people?” he pointed to Finn and Jake who closed in around Fiona slightly.  
“This is Finn and Jake. I'm not sure I'm the right person to explain all this, though.” Fiona admitted.  
“Are you alright Fiona? You look shaken.” Prince Gumball asked kindly. Fiona’s blush grew deeper.  
“She was just kidnapped by the Ice King and locked in a dungeon.” Finn spoke for Fiona, as it was clear she wasn't up to talking about it just yet.  
“That's awful!” Gumball said appropriately, though it was obvious that he had no idea who the Ice King was.  
“I'm really not the right person to explain all this, come on.” Fiona admitted, trying to lead the way. Jake understood and allowed her to climb on his back, Finn followed suit and Fiona looked over her shoulder to see Prince Gumball looking very confused.  
“Do you know these people?” he whispered unsure.  
“Yeah, don’t worry, they’re cool. Come on,” Fiona reassured him, extending a hand to him. Gumball took that as a sign that she trusted these people, so he climbed on Jake’s back, next to Fiona. Finn was her other side.  
“Candy Kingdom here we come.” Jake said in a train conductor like fashion.  
“oh, Finn!" Fiona exclaimed, turning to face him. “If the Ice King was after me, maybe our Ice Queen will try and go after you."  
“I dunno though, Ice Kings incredibly dumb.” Finn reasoned, receiving a smile off Fiona. “Oh, here's your hat.” Finn said, pulling her rabbit eared hat out of his backpack. Fiona re-did her bun and slipped the hat over it, tying it incredibly securely.  
“Thanks. Where's Cake?” Fiona suddenly remembered and her heart tightened.  
“She’s being unfrozen by Princess Bubblegum.” Jake reassured her, as the gates of the Candy Kingdom passed over them. Gumball looked around in wonder.  
"Why is everyone staring at us?" he asked, the castle approaching. They all dismounted and walked up the stairs of the Palace. Bubblegum was waiting with Cake in the main hall. They walked in and immediately Cake jumped up to Fiona, who caught her and held her tight.  
“I'll never let you outta my sight again.” Cake promised, furious with herself for not protecting her better.  
“It’s alright Cake. I'm here aren't I?” Fiona whispered to her, holding her closer to her. Gumball looked around the hall and didn't even notice Princess Bubblegum, who didn't notice him either. Everyone's attention was on Fiona and Cakes reunion. They finally broke apart and Fiona went over to Princess Bubblegum.  
“Thank you so much for looking after Cake. I owe you big time.” Fiona said politely, meaning every word she said. “Oh, this is Prince Gumball, the ruler of the Candy Kingdom in Aaa.” she stepped to the side and revealed Gumball, who saw Bubblegum for the first time. The meeting was incredibly unusual, even by Finn and Fiona's standards.  
“I'm sorry, but I have no idea what’s going on here.” Prince Gumball apologised, looking embarrassed. Princess Bubblegum explained the situation as best she could.  
“so you see, in order to transport you back into the Land of Aaa, I need to reverse the serum's formula so it will turn 3D objects...”  
“back into two dimensional words or pictures.” Gumball finished, obviously understanding fully.  
“How far are you with the serum then PB?” Finn asked, trying to be included in the conversation.  
“I've managed to recreate the serum but reversing it is a whole new problem. I've reversed one small part of the serum but it's nowhere near completed.” Princess Bubblegum said disappointedly.  
“So, we're going to be stuck here for a while longer, basically.” Cake said loudly.  
“Kind of, yes. Unless I can figure out how to reverse each and every step, you will have to remain here in the Land of Ooo.” Bubblegum admitted.  
“Err, quick question.” Fiona began, drawing all the attention to her “if someone from Aaa died in the Land of Ooo, what would happen?”  
“I'm not sure, to be honest. But I wouldn't like to try it out, so keep alive at all costs.” Bubblegum warned.  
“Do you mind if I assist you on this serum? Two heads are better than one.” Prince Gumball asked, eager to help.  
“Sure, I guess.” she said brightly but leaned over to Finn and whispered “Are you sure he's safe?”  
“Yeah, he's Fiona friend. Gumball's alright.” Finn reassured her, failing to keep his voice down.  
“Oh, well then, of course you can help me with the serum. It's getting dark, you four should be getting home.” Princess Bubblegum said to the others. They bid their goodbyes and left, not talking. Cake was thinking about how much she let Fiona down, and was furious with herself for doing so. Fiona suddenly had a whole new respect for the Princes of Aaa, which had to live with the fear of being captured by the Ice Queen. Finn was simply recounting the events of the day, while Jake's mind was preoccupied with thoughts of how sleepy he was. They all walked through the front door and sat down on the sofa, still not saying a word.  
“Marceline!” Finn exclaimed, out of the blue, starling everyone else. “She doesn't know about any of this!” he ran over to his old fashioned phone and punched a number in. A dark haired girl picked up the phone at the other end.  
“Hello?” she said down the phone.  
“Marceline, come down to the tree house now, we need to tell you something.” Finn said, rushing to get the words out.  
“Okay, calm down Finn. I'll be right over.” she replied. Marceline put down the receiver and sighed. She glided over to the door, stopping to pick up her axe bass. She swept over the silent Land of Ooo and arrived at the tree house. Finn flung open the door and Marceline swooped in and floated down onto a chair. She looked around and started when she saw Fiona and Cake.  
“Marceline, we've got so much to tell you.” Finn boasted.  
“I can see. Who are those two?” she asked, pointing to Fiona and Cake. She spoke in a board way, as if she wanted more than anything to be somewhere else.  
“This is Fiona and her cat, Cake. That's where it gets complex.” Finn explained. He tried his best to recall everything Princess Bubblegum had said, but it was clear that Marceline wasn't getting it.  
“So, these people are your doubles from the Land of Aaa.” Marceline said, trying to make sense of it all.  
“Yeah. And Bubblegum is currently working on a serum to send us back.” Fiona said, trying to prove that she was worth acknowledging.  
“Don’t get too comfortable then.” Marceline said, stretching out on the chair. “Who’s my double, then?” she asked Fiona.  
“What are you?” Fiona asked innocently.  
“I'm the Vampire Queen.” Marceline said proudly, flicking her fringe out of her eyes as she spoke.  
“Oh, we have a Vampire King: Marshal Lee.” Fiona said quietly.  
“Too right.” Marshal Lee said, scaring all of them. He was at the open door, leaning against the door frame. He actually was there because he didn’t know what was going and thought Fiona and Cake would.  
“Oh, so you’re the famous Vampire King.” Marceline drawled, peering curiously at Marshal Lee.  
“Yeah. Who are you?” he asked, looking at Fiona for confirmation.  
“I'm Marceline. You want to explain this, Fiona?” she said, looking at Fiona who was startled to be brought into a conversation.  
“Basically, the Princess of the Candy Kingdom created something that made us come here and now we're all searching for our doubles.” Fiona said hurriedly.  
“I heard that, don't worry.” Marshal Lee said, floating on his back and stretching out. “So, I take it these clowns are your doubles.” he nodded to Finn and Jake.  
“Yeah, this is Finn and Jake.” Fiona said, putting an arm around Cake who was nestling in her lap.  
“Cool.” he replied, not even looking at them. “This is kind of weird, isn't it?” Marshal Lee stated, looking down on them all.  
“I know, but it's not for long. Bubblegum should complete the serum any day now.” Fiona said tonelessly. Silence fell.  
“Well, I'd better be going.” Marceline said, getting up and collecting her axe bass. She looked back at Marshal Lee. “You coming?” she asked.  
“You trust me enough?” Marshal said in surprise.  
“I don't want to lose track of my double, there's a spare bed in my house.” she said confidently. Marshal looked at Fiona one last time, and then followed Marceline out.  
“We should be getting some sleep as well.” Jake said, lumbering up the stairs. Finn made sure they were comfortable before securing the downstairs and going to bed. Fiona sat, stroking Cake for ages. Neither of them wanted to go to sleep.  
“It’s my fault.” Cake whispered after a while.  
“It was no one’s fault. Stop blaming yourself.” Fiona said forcefully.  
“I could have taken him. I could have stopped him.” Cake said, burying her head into Fiona's side.  
“It doesn't matter anymore. I'm okay, aren't I?” Fiona said soothingly.

Upstairs, Jake pressed his ear to the floor.  
“Jake what are you doing?” Finn asked curiously.  
“Shh!” Jake hissed, “I want to hear what they’re saying.”  
“Dude! That’s eves-dropping!” Finn whispered, coming up next to him.  
“No it isn’t. Now be quiet.” Jake reassured him, listening intently. Finn kept quiet and the girl’s voice rose up through the floor.  
“We really do owe them.” Cake said.  
“I know. They got me out of there. You know, I’m pretty sure we can trust them now.” Fiona stated.  
“I’m still not sure.” Cake said nervously. “We don’t know them well, and I’m sure they don’t trust us completely.”  
“I know. It’s weird how they seem to trust us. It’s all too much. Suddenly, we’re told we’re in the Land of Ooo and all these people (who we don’t know) say they’re trust worthy.” Fiona said quietly.  
“How can we trust them when we’ve never met them before?” Cake joined in.  
“The only reason I trust Finn is because if he killed me, he’d technically be killing himself. That the only reason.” Fiona said dramatically.  
“I know! They are just about alright, but how do we know anyone else won’t try and hurt us? And what about that creepy dude today?! He kidnapped you, right under their noses!” Cake exclaimed, clearly working herself up into rage.  
“But they did save me.” Fiona pointed out.  
“You shouldn’t have been stolen in the first place!” Cake protested.  
“If you really want to, we’ll leave first thing tomorrow.” Fiona compromised. “We’ll make something up and run away. Just get some rest.” The boys heard the rustling of the blankets and the creek of the couch. They sat back and just looked at each other.  
“Did we hear them right?” Jake asked unsure. Finn looked at him in amazement.  
“Yep. They just agreed to run.” Finn confirmed. “If they leave, they’ll be in even more danger!”  
“I know that!” Jake exclaimed, a bit loud. Fiona and cake looked up at the ceiling but settled back down, ignoring it. Jake clasped his hands across his mouth.  
“Shhh!” Finn hissed. “We’ll have to prove that we’re trust worthy, and that we trust them.” Finn decided.  
“But dude! Didn’t you hear? Fiona trusts you, it’s just Cake doesn’t. They don’t trust everyone else. We have to prove that it’s everyone else is trustworthy, not us.” Jake declared, thumping the floor in triumph. Immediately, Jake curled up, just realising what he’d done. Finn winced and kept as still as they could. Muffled footsteps came up the ladder and Fiona appeared, nervously scanning the room. She had one of Finn’s swords instead of her own (which was left at the Ice King’s Palace). She saw Finn and Jake and sighed with relief.  
“Sorry. I didn’t know what that noise was.” Fiona apologised.  
“Oh, Jake was trying to get a fly.” Finn said quickly.  
“Alright. Night.” Fiona said, walking back downstairs. Finn glared at Jake.  
“Dude! See, she’s frightened because of the Ice King. That’s why she doesn’t trust anyone here, she had no idea who he was and he kidnapped her.” Finn hissed angrily.  
“It’s a bit extreme though, isn’t it? Not trusting a whole Land because of one person.” Jake asked, not seeing his point.  
“Dude, imagine if we ended up in the Land of Aaa. We know no one, and suddenly those two show up. We have no idea who they are but they show they trust us. Then, just as we begin to trust them fully, someone we’ve never seen before kidnaps one of us! How would you feel?” Finn asked, keeping his voice down.  
“I guess I’d be kinda scared in case someone else tried to kidnap me.” Jake admitted.  
“Exactly dude! That’s how those two feel!” Finn said triumphantly.  
“Okay Finn. We’ll show them we’re trust worthy. Now get some sleep.” Jake said, crawling into his draw and falling asleep in seconds. Finn slipped into his bed, already in his pyjamas, but didn’t sleep. How am I going to prove that not everyone is bad? He thought, just as his eyelids began to droop, I know loads of good people, but how do I show them they’re good? Finn fell asleep with these thoughts in his head. Downstairs, Fiona fell asleep quite peacefully. Cake simply refused to fall into the depths of sleep. Cake stayed awake for most of the night, watching over Fiona and making sure no harm came to her.

Everyone woke up the next morning with mixed emotions. Cake was simply exhausted from staying up all night. Fiona was ready to leave if she absolutely had to but she wasn’t just going to leave without a word. Jake had almost completely forgotten about the conversation they heard the night previous, and finally, Finn was still trying to figure out how to prove not everyone was evil like the Ice King. The boys came down stairs and saw the girls wide awake and alert. Finn didn’t take this to mean good.  
“Morning ladies, how did you sleep?” Finn asked brightly.  
“Alright. Cake didn’t sleep though. What about you?” Fiona said, putting her hat on over her long hair.  
“Quite well. You?” Jake asked dazed.  
“You just asked that.” Fiona stated, smiling nervously.  
“Oh, right.” Jake said embarrassed. “How about we go kick some evil butt today?” he suggested.  
“Sounds cool, but I don’t have my sword. I dropped it just before the Ice King locked me in the dungeons.” Fiona said apologetically.  
“Don’t worry, how’s about we go check in on PB? She and Prince Gumball should be making good progress.” Finn said.  
“Okay,” Fiona said, giving Cake a meaningful look.  
“Could you excuse us?” Cake asked, dragging Fiona outside the front door. She slammed the door behind her and Finn and Jake pressed their ears up to it.  
“What now?” Fiona said, exasperated.  
“So, we aren’t running off?” Cake asked seriously.  
“Without my sword, we won’t stand a chance.” Fiona protested.  
“We could borrow one of theirs, and then we’d be fine.” Cake suggested determinedly.  
“Won’t that be stealing, since we’ll be running off?” Fiona asked, crossing her arms over her chest.  
“That doesn’t matter right now.” Cake said, gesturing wildly with her arms.  
“Yes it does. We’re heroines, we don’t steal.”  
“Ugh.” Cake scoffed. Sometimes having a conscience can really get in the way.  
“And, we won’t know when the serum’s completed if we run off.” Fiona pointed out  
“Fine! But if something happens to either of us...” Cake started angrily.  
“We’ll be gone in a heartbeat.” Fiona promised her. Cake was satisfied with that answer. They opened the door and stepped back inside. “Shall we leave?” she asked formally.  
“Okay, let’s go to the Candy Kingdom.” Finn said brightly. To save time, Fiona and Finn climbed on Jake and Cake’s back and they stretched all the way. Fiona tried hard to keep the conversation going, but that proved harder than she thought. The Castle loomed into view and they all walked down to Princess Bubblegum’s lab. Two people in lab coats were working feverishly over the serum. They didn’t acknowledge them until they’d finished whatever they were doing.  
“How are you?” Prince Gumball asked. They weren’t sure which two he was talking to, so Fiona answered just in case.  
“Alright, Cake didn’t sleep at all. How about you?” Fiona asked, thankful that she wasn’t the only one talking now.  
“Okay. We worked on this serum all night, and we’ve reversed a significant amount of the formula.” He explained, taking off his safety goggles.  
“We’ve still got quite a bit to do though. It will take a few days before it’s fully completed.” Princess Bubblegum countered, taking off her lab coat.  
“Well, at least it’s coming along.” Prince Gumball said, trying to stay positive.  
“Yes, I suppose.” Bubblegum sighed. Fiona had the feeling she really wanted everyone from Aaa to go back ASAP.  
“Breakfast is served in the dining hall.” Peppermint Butler declared, appearing at the door and bowing deeply.  
“Thank you Peppermint Butler.” Bubblegum said graciously. She turned back to face everyone else. “Anyone else hungry?” she asked politely, leading the way. Breakfast was a strained affair.  
“So, how do you like the Land of Ooo?” Fiona asked Prince Gumball, not eating much.  
“It’s almost just like home. Only the people are so much different. Are you alright? Didn’t you say you were kidnapped yesterday?” Prince Gumball asked sincerely.  
“Sort of. It’s a long story. Too long to be important.” Fiona said dismissively, taking a sip of her drink. What nobody could see was Fiona’s hand was shaking, very subtly, as she took a drink.  
“Okay.” He replied, taking the hint. Finn looked at Fiona weirdly from across the table.  
“Why doesn’t she want to tell him?” Finn whispered to Jake, as discreetly as he could.  
“She might now want him to worry about her. That or, she’s embarrassed about it.” Jake suggested, whispering as well.  
“Why would she be embarrassed?” Finn hissed.  
“She’s the hero of Aaa.” Jake whispered behind his hand. “Everyone probably looks up to her, so maybe she doesn’t want anyone to find out that she had to be rescued. Maybe if they did find out, they’d lose faith in her and/or think her weak.”  
“But she’s not weak! She’s the hero!” Finn said quietly.  
“But she had to be rescued. Have you ever had to be rescued?” Jake asked slyly.  
“We were both rescued by Princess Bubblegum when we were on an adventure once. Remember?” Finn hissed irritably.  
“Oh yeah.” Jake said fondly. “Anyway. The point is, maybe she feels weak because she couldn’t defend herself against the Ice King. Now shut up.” Jake whispered. He brightly resumed eating. Fiona glanced at them suspiciously but chose to ignore them.  
“Gumball, where’s Lord Monochromicorn?” Cake asked, worried that she hadn’t seen him at all.  
“He’s with Princess Bubblegum’s pet: Lady Rainicorn.” Prince Gumball explained.  
“May I be excused?” Cake asked immediately, slipping off her chair and running out of the door. Fiona laughed slightly, thinking how funny Cake could be. Breakfast finished and Princess Bubblegum decided to take a break from working on the serum for a while.  
“So what do you want to do now?” Finn asked, full from the meal.  
“I don’t mind.” Fiona said immediately. “I’d better go find Cake though.” she walked out of the same door Cake did, without looking back. Finn was getting more confused by the minute.  
“Would you please excuse me?” he asked Princess Bubblegum.  
“Of course, Finn.” She replied. Finn slipped out the door and followed Fiona outside.  
“HEY FIONA! WAIT UP!” he shouted, running to catch up with her. Fiona froze and turned around slowly. She relaxed when she saw it was just Finn.  
“Hello Finn” she said, too brightly.  
“What’s wrong?” he asked immediately.  
“What do you mean?” Fiona inquired; a puzzled look on her face.  
“You’ve been acting strangely. Refusing to tell Gumball what happened, secret chats with Cake. What’s up with you?” Finn demanded. Fiona looked down at the ground.  
“Nothing. I’m fine.” She said quietly, refusing to look at him.  
“Something’s wrong. You don’t have to be a genius to see that.” Finn said, desperately trying to weasel the information out of her.  
“I’m scared.” Fiona whispered; her voice catching. Finn was taken aback by this.  
“What are you scared about?” he asked softly.  
“Scared we won’t be able to go back home. That the Ice King will some back. I’m scared of too many things to be okay.” Fiona said, ashamed.  
“It’s alright to be afraid. And there’s no need to be ashamed.” Finn consoled.  
“It’s not alright!” Fiona protested. “We’re heroes! Hero’s aren’t scared of anything.”  
“But we are also human. And it’s human to be scared.”  
“You’ve got a point.” Fiona admitted, roughly wiping her eye. “It’s just, when I was trapped in that dungeon cell...”  
“What?”  
“I was wishing to be rescued. I had my backpack and some weapons and I still couldn’t save myself. Heroes get themselves out of trouble without any help; and there I was wishing for it. I’m pathetic.” Fiona said, turning away from Finn, covering her eyes.  
“You’re not pathetic.” Finn said confidently, walking around so he faced Fiona. “Don’t think you are, either. You just needed a boost. I’m sure you’d do the same for me if it was the other way around.” Finn reassured her, pulling her hands away from her eyes. Fiona looked at him, tears threatening to spill over her bottom eyelid. “Yes, heroes get themselves out of trouble, but they also help their friends who are in trouble. There’s nothing to be ashamed of.” Fiona knew he was telling the truth. She dried her eyes and hugged him gratefully.  
“Thanks. I guess you’re right.” she said meekly. “But I really do need to find Cake.” Fiona walked towards the place where Lord Monochromicorn was kept in Aaa, and somehow he was there. Neither of them noticed Finn and Fiona, which suited them fine.  
“Err, Fiona?” Finn began timidly.  
“What Finn?”  
“I overheard you and Cake talking last night, about how you didn't trust us.” Finn admitted, expecting Fiona to storm off.  
“Oh. Yeah, that.” Fiona mumbled, rubbing her arm nervously “I'm sorry about that. It's just; you've got to see it from our point of view. We don't know anyone and suddenly all these different people say they're trustworthy and we're meant to go along, not knowing if they're lying or not. It's hard.”  
“I'm not blaming you, I'm sure I'd feel like that if things were reversed.” Finn said, brushing it off.  
“Let me guess, you also heard us saying we'll run for it.” Fiona said smoothly, taking the words out of Finns mouth. “I admit that's the plan.”  
“Wait. That is the plan? So you still might run for it?” Finn asked nervously.  
“If something happens to either of us, we'll leave. That's what I said and that's what I mean. I'm not saying that we need a bodyguard or anything, but if either Cake or I get harmed, we're running to safety.” Fiona explained  
“But you'll be in even more danger of you run away!” Finn exclaimed.  
“I know, but it's better to be hidden in small numbers than out in the open with many.” she retorted.  
“I see your logic.” Finn admitted grumpily.  
“You know.” Fiona began. “We might be technically the same person, but we could be completely different. I still don't know you as a person.” she said, taking a seat on the grass. Finn sat down next to her, slightly confused.  
“Okay, who's your favourite hero?” he asked.  
“Barbie!” she replied, her eyes glazing over. “Yours?”  
“Billie!” Finn exclaimed, mimicking Fiona. Fiona punched him on the arm in a friendly way. They talked until Princess Bubblegum came looking for them.  
“Come, I think we might have perfected the serum.” she boasted proudly. Cake came over and they all went inside. Princess Bubblegum led them to the lab and produced a small test tube of liquid.  
“Is that it?” Cake asked.  
“Yes. But we have to test it first.” Bubblegum said, taking a cube off the counter and placing it in front of her. She poured a single drop over it. *pop* the cube was then a drawing of a square, as it originally was. However, she looked very disappointed. “Oh no. It's meant to make it into words rather than pictures, like the book itself.” she muttered to herself. “Sorry guys, it looks like it isn't perfect just yet.” Bubblegum apologised.  
“It’s okay; just make sure it's 100% perfect, so nothing bad happens to us.” Fiona said. The sky outside cracked with dusk colours.  
“We should be heading home.” Jake said, allowing Finn to climb on his back. Cake lengthened and Fiona gracefully sat on top of her. They set off at a run and made it to the tree house just as the sky turned dark.  
“Oh, nuts.” Finn exclaimed just as they got in. “we’ve got a jam session with Marceline.” He turned to Jake.  
“Oh yeah.” He agreed, unsure. Finn turned back to Fiona and Cake.  
“We could cancel, if you wanted.” He said graciously.  
“No. That wouldn’t be fair on Marceline. We’ll just come with.” Fiona compromised.

They knocked on the front door of Marceline’s door and it swung open. Marceline was floating on her back, playing a song on her bass, while Marshal Lee accompanied it with chords off his guitar.  
“Hey Finn! You finally made it.” Marceline said, putting her axe-bass down by her side.  
“Yeah.” Finn agreed, stepping inside. “We brought Fiona and Cake.”  
“Okay.” Marceline’s eyes widened slightly. Finn leaned in slightly and Marceline put her ear by his mouth.  
“I don’t want to leave her alone in case the Ice King gets her.” Finn explained. He had a tone in his voice that said he wasn’t going to explain at that moment in time. Marceline nodded subtly and beckoned them in. Finn reached into his backpack and pulled out a recorder. He pressed the button and Marshal Lee started playing. Marceline joined in and they played peacefully. The night passed quickly and soon it was quite late. They all made it back to the tree house and settled down to sleep. Jake and Finn had just disappeared upstairs when Cake started asking questions.  
“So, should we trust them yet?” she asked expectantly. Fiona shuffled further into the blankets.  
“yeah.” She whispered, pulling the covers up to her chin. Cake took this answer and fell asleep soundly. 

Over in the Candy Kingdom, Prince Gumball and Princess Bubblegum were pulling an all-nighter. They wore the most serious expression. Chemicals switched hands and small wisps of smoke sprouted from the beaker containing the serum.  
“Bubblegum, that’s the most we can do.” Prince Gumball said, pulling his safety goggles off, exhausted.  
“But it’s almost completed.” Princes Bubblegum pleaded, even though she knew they needed some sleep.  
“We can finish it tomorrow.” He said finally.  
“Okay. Do you want a room here?” Bubblegum asked, taking off her lab coat.  
“Only if it isn’t a bother.” Prince Gumball said shyly.  
“Not at all.” Bubblegum reassured him. She led him to a spare room. She left him there and went to her room to change into her night gown and fall asleep.

However, on the far side of Ooo, the Ice King wasn’t going to sleep. He still hadn’t figured out everything. Firstly, why did Finn and Fiona look so similar? Secondly, how hadn’t the he seen Fiona before? She couldn’t have been in hiding, since Finn and she were a team. A commotion outside his window broke his thoughts. A woman stood on the window frame. She had snow white hair and an ice blue gown. Everything about her screamed out ‘cold’. A fairly small tiara sat on her head, very similar to the Ice Kings. They stared at each other for a moment, and then suddenly each character lit up their palms.  
“I am the Ice Queen of Aaa.” The woman declared proudly, also demanding to know who he was.  
“The Land of Aaa?” the Ice King asked curiously.  
“yes.” The Ice Queen said with dignity. Comprehension hit the Ice King hard.  
“The book!” he shouted. The Ice Queen looked at him as if he was mad.  
“What?”  
“I wrote a book about the Land of Aaa and I gave it to Princess Bubblegum. She must have taken the characters out of it.” he explained happily. Somehow this registered in the Ice Queen’s mind.  
“So we’re the same person?” she asked for confirmation.  
“Yes. And we’ll own Ooo.” The Ice King promised, looking out of his window. The Land of Ooo lay just out there. With two ice people, they were unstoppable. Finn and Jake couldn’t take on the both of them. The sun rose and the Ice King swore to himself that all the Princess of Ooo would be his. And all the Princes would be the Ice Queens, of course. 

 

“Oh nuts!” Fiona exclaimed, sitting bolt upright, her hat half off her head. Cake was still asleep. Fiona threw a pillow at her and Cake woke up slowly. Finn and Jake were running down the stairs, getting ready in a hurry. Finn had just pulled his top down fully when he saw Fiona awake. Colour rushed to his cheeks. “What’s up?” Fiona asked, pulling her hat back on fully and getting up. She had pyjama’s on as her clothes were in her backpack.  
“Hotdog Princess is in trouble. We’ve got to go save her.” Finn said hurriedly.  
“Don’t wait for us!” Fiona exclaimed in surprise. “We’ll be fine for a little bit! Just go!” she prompted, reading his thoughts. Finn looked at them unsure but still turned to the door. Jake stretched them to the Ice Palace and they were surprised to see two evil faces looking at them. The woman looked at them with mingled distaste and curiosity. Hotdog Princess and Prince were in the prison, very confused about the turn of events. Suddenly Jake and Finn understood: this was the Ice Queen.  
Meanwhile, Fiona and Cake sat on the sofas in the tree house. They sat in silence, thinking everything over.  
“I hope they’re okay.” Fiona said, trying to break the silence.  
“They’ll be fine.” Cake reassured her. The front door burst open and Fiona absent-mindedly reached into her backpack, only to realise her sword wasn’t there. Instead, Fiona reached for a sword Finn had left ‘just in case’. She turned back around, wielding the sword to find Finn and Jake standing in the doorway, looking defeated.  
“What happened?” Fiona asked, lowering the sword.  
“We just found the Ice King’s double.” Jake said simply. Fiona and Cake looked at each other.  
“The Ice Queen was there?” Cake asked, her eyes following them as they sat down.  
“Yeah man! We only just got Hotdog Prince and Princess out of there.” Finn said, feeling stupid.  
“That’s something at least.” Fiona said consolingly.  
“That’s not the point! The point is that the Ice Queen’s teamed up with the Ice King.” Cake said sharply to Fiona.  
“That serum needs to be completed as soon as.” Jake agreed. They all nodded and ran, full pelt, until the Candy Kingdom was in view; and they didn’t slow down much even then. Princess Bubblegum was waiting at the doors to her castle for them. She looked very worried.  
“The Ice Queen.” Finn began but Princess Bubblegum held up her hand to silence him.  
“I know. They’ve already began some of the Princes from Aaa along with their double.” Bubblegum said; her brow creasing.  
“What?!” Fiona asked, trying to catch her breath.  
“The serum is almost done. I could have it done for the end of the week, so I need you to round up all the doubles and make sure they are in the Candy Kingdom for when it is.” Bubblegum said; a pleading tone in her voice. They split up (much against Finn and Cake’s wishes) and began rounding everyone up. Jake went with Fiona and Cake went with Finn, since both of them wanted to go with Fiona and they were getting nowhere. Jake walked along slowly while Fiona sat on his back, keeping a lookout. Finding the doubles was fairly easy since Fiona knew virtually everyone from Aaa and the ones she didn’t know were always with someone she did. Finn and Cake on the other hand, weren’t making as much progress. Neither could seem to agree on anything.  
“I should have gone with Fiona.” Cake muttered angrily.  
“I promised her I’d protect her.” Finn said argumentatively, throwing her a sharp look.  
“I’m her best friend! I should be with her.” Cake threw at him. Finn stopped dead in his tracks.  
“I am her! Just the Ooo version.” Finn protested, pointing a few Aaa citizens in the direction of the Candy Kingdom.  
“Well you won’t be for long. We’ll be back home before the week is over.” Cake spat at him.  
“Until then, I promised to protect her, so deal with it.” Finn said, ending the conversation. Somehow, that brought a truce to the both of them. Without speaking, they agreed to work together. Fiona was special to the both of them, so it was only right that they should both protect her.  
The end of the week drew ever nearer and things were going from bad to worse. Barely half the population of Aaa could be found, and to top it all off, every day more and more princes and princesses were being kidnapped and locked away in the Ice Palace. Jake and Finn finally bust them all out, but were nearly frozen to death in the process. It was awful! All those who had been rescued successfully were then immediately held up in the Candy Kingdom where they were safe, for the meantime. If Jake and Finn had to rescue someone, Fiona and Cake were left to round up everyone else. It helped that the population of Aaa had a friendly face to turn to when they were all confused. Fiona and Cake were bombarded with the same questions: what was going on? Who were all these people? It did not help that they all expected them to get them home right then and there. The last day arrived and Princess Bubblegum told them to round everyone up immediately. Jake and Fiona split off and went one way, while Finn and Cake went the other way. As the sun sank lower, the number of people dwindled until finally, they met back up at the gates of the Candy Kingdom.  
“That’s everyone. We should be heading to the Great Hall.” Jake declared, allowing Fiona to get off his back. The streets of the Candy Kingdom were packed with Aaa residents trying to get into the Hall. Normal residents of Ooo were peeking out of their windows, occasionally catching a glimpse of someone they thought they knew. Finally, everyone was packed uncomfortably into the hall. Fiona and Cake bid Finn and Jake goodbye and took their place in the hall. Finn and Jake waved to them as the heavy doors closed. Fiona turned around and looked up at Princess Bubblegum, who stood on a platform so they all could see her.


	2. The Final Trap

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This is it: all that's left is to get Ice Queen and then everything is back to normal (well, if you can have normal in Ooo). But how much is everyone willing to sacrifice for safety and normality?

“The serum is perfected.” Bubblegum shouted proudly, holding up the serum for them all to see.   
“So, we can all go home now!” Fiona said excitedly. Every occupant of the Land of Aaa muttered to the person next to them – they had no clue what was going on or what had happened.   
“Yes, but there’s one person missing.” Bubblegum said, looking around at the crowd in front of her. “We could send most of the people here home to Aaa, but we really need to get the Ice Queen within reach.” Bubblegum pointed out. “She and the Ice King have been destroying Ooo! The sooner she’s captured, the sooner we can all go back to normal.”   
“So, why don’t you just send us all back now and think of a plan later?” Marshal Lee suggested, floating above everyone.  
“That was our original plan, but we need some of you here to complete the plan.” Bubblegum projected her voice all around the hall. “Can Fiona, Prince Gumball, Marshal Lee and Cake the Cat step up here?” she asked. The four characters stepped up to where Bubblegum was and looked out at the crowd. “Finn, help me sprinkle the serum over all of them.” She ordered, pointing to a sprinkler fixed to the ceiling. Together, they attached the beaker to the sprinkler, and took down a remote so they could set it off at will. The book was open in the middle of the hall. Bubblegum lead her elite group into the next room and set off the sprinkler. A blinding light shone from the next room and suddenly died out. Fiona opened the door a crack and peered out. The hall was completely empty, except for the book that lay open. Bubblegum shut off the sprinkler and they all stepped out, looking around at the hall. Cake crept up to the book and saw in amazement that the pages were no longer blank, but they now were (mostly) covered in writing.  
“What now?” Fiona asked, turning to Princess Bubblegum. She looked at Fiona knowingly.  
“Now we set a trap.”   
“What’s the trap?” Fiona asked wearily.  
“I’ve got it all planned out.” Princess Bubblegum said confidently. “Follow me.” She walked out of a side door and led them down several corridors until they came to a room hidden away at the far end of the Castle. The door was open and Finn, Jake and Marceline were standing around a table. Princess Bubblegum shut the door behind them. “Gather round.” She ordered and everyone grouped around the table in the middle of the room. A large piece of paper was stretched from one end of the table to the other. It depicted a plan of the Ice Kings’ mountain in great detail. It showed the dungeons, and every way in and out.   
“So... this is the plan.” Marshal Lee said, amazed at the map.  
“Not exactly. This is a major part of the plan though. Our real plan is this:” Bubblegum began dramatically. “We set out some bait for the Ice King, who’ll be bound to take it. Then, when Ice King takes the bait back to his mountain, the Ice Queen will be there as well. Hopefully, once the bait is inside the Ice Kings Mountain, they will pretend to be truly trapped. Finn and Jake will then jump in to rescue them. But, the rest of us will be there as well, with the exception of Prince Gumball and me. We will be waiting just outside with this,” she produced a bottle with a spraying nozzle. “This is sleeping solution. We will enter the Mountain through this passage way.” She pointed to a thin line going from the dungeon to the outside world. “We will sneak up behind Ice Queen and spray her with the sleeping solution. Then, while all the rest of you are battling, we will safely take the Ice Queen and keep her asleep. Once you see or hear the signal: three blasts of a whistle and three pulses of pink light, you will abandon the mission, taking the bait with you and meet us back at the rendezvous point: Finn and Jakes tree house.” The plan seemed very complicated and doubt built up in everyone’s mind. “Any questions?” Princess Bubblegum asked, looking around at them all.   
“What’s the bait?” Cake asked nervously.   
“We need live bait. That’s where you come in Fiona.” She replies, looking directly at Fiona.  
“What?!” Cake exclaimed.  
“The Ice King captured you before, so there’s no doubt he’ll at least try to again.” Bubblegum explained, giving Cake a hard look.  
“Why can’t we set out bait for the Ice Queen?” Marceline asked, pretending not to care, when really; she actually didn’t think Fiona was that bad and didn’t want the Ice King to kidnap her.  
“The Ice Queen wouldn’t take it.” Bubblegum said dismissively.  
“Not if it was Prince Gumball.” Cake pointed out, anger rising inside her. “She’s been after him for as long as I can remember.”  
“But as soon as the Ice Queen saw me, she would suspect a trap. If she would attack, it would be on her own terms.” Prince Gumball explained, secretly shocked at Cake.   
“The Ice King however, would easily go for the bait, if it was disguised as a weary, lost young girl. One that looked like a princess.” Bubblegum continued, looking slyly at Fiona.  
“No way! I’m not letting that monster anywhere near her.” Cake shouted angrily.  
“Yeah!” Finn joined in. “We promised her we wouldn’t let that happen.”   
“There are too many variables here, Bubblegum.” Prince Gumball pointed out. “What if Ice King doesn’t go for the bait? What if he locks her away somewhere we won’t be able to get to her?” he said, looking round at them all.  
“Those are risks we’ll have to take.” Princess Bubblegum said, admirably.  
“Fiona,” Marshal Lee said, standing next to Fiona. “What do you think?”   
“Why does it have to be me?” Fiona asked. She refused to believe this was actually happening. “Why can’t it be an actual princess?” she asked desperately. It wasn’t happening. It couldn’t be happening.  
“Because haven’t you noticed? He was desperate to keep you in his grasp. If he thought that he could have you again, he would jump at the chance. He would do anything to have a princess.” Bubblegum explained, making it much clearer.  
“But he knows I’m not a princess. I told him repeatedly. Finn told him as well. He knows I’m not a princess.” Fiona protested.  
“Ah. But he also knows you are a team, so it’s possible that he’ll think you both said you aren’t a princess just to save yourself, Fiona.” Princess Bubblegum said confidently. She had thought through every single aspect of this plan.  
“No! She’s not going to be the bait!” Cake shouted, thumping her fists on the table.   
“DO YOU WANT THE ICE QUEEN TO DETROY OOO?” Bubblegum shouted back.  
“WE DON’T EVEN BELONG HERE!” Cake hollered. “AND, IF IT WASN’T FOR YOUR SERUM, WE WOULDN’T EVEN BE HERE IN THE FIRST PLACE!” Everyone knew Cake had a point.   
“I know. But right now we need to get you all back. The plan needs everyone’s co-operation to work.” Bubblegum said strongly. “Fiona, are you in?”  
“I don’t know if I really want to be at the mercy of my greatest enemy.” Fiona admitted.  
“You said that you owed me one. Are you going to keep that promise? Like a true heroine?” Bubblegum challenged.  
“A true heroine keeps her word.” Fiona muttered, thinking it over in her head. She was silent for a minute. Everybody watched the battle play out in her head. “Alright, I’ll do it.” she whispered, studying the map on the table.   
“Excellent! The plan will commence tomorrow. We will spend the rest of today making preparations.” Bubblegum ordered. She turned on her heel and walked towards the door. “Meet me in the study in half an hour, when you’ve finished up here.” She stalked out and everyone stared at Fiona in amazement.  
“Why’d you do it?” Marshal Lee asked, breaking the silence.  
“I just want to go back home, okay. And if that means I have to be live bait, then...” Fiona replied.  
“I won’t let anything happen to you. I promise.” Cake said, jumping up and wrapping her limbs around Fiona. Fiona hugged her back.  
“Yeah, we’ll get you out of there, one way or another.” Finn promised, patting Fiona on the back. In turn, all the people in the room left. Fiona and Cake were the last to leave for the study. Once they got there, the scene was more casual than before. Princess Bubblegum and Prince Gumball were chatting away. Finn and Jake were lounging on a couch and Marceline was floating near the ceiling. Marshal Lee was busy drinking the red from a length of ribbon. Bubblegum saw Fiona and beckoned her over.   
“I’ve got something to show you.” she said, leading Fiona and Cake over to the far corner. A very plain, sleeveless dress was resting on a mannequin, with many accessories lying on a table next to it.   
“What’s this?” Fiona asked curiously. The dress was simple, nothing more than a classic princess dress, but without anything on it. The dress went outwards and the bodice was tight. Fiona didn’t like dresses at the best of times, especially ones in girly colours. The fabric was a lavender shade, which she didn’t like.   
“This is the dress you’re going to have to wear. All the accessories are to make you look as princess-like as possible.” Bubblegum explained. She saw Fiona’s face and sighed. “I know you probably won’t like it, but it’s just to trick the Ice King. I went for a fairytale princess style that’s easily recognisable so there’s no doubt the Ice King will think you’re really a princess.” Prince Gumball went and stood beside Princess Bubblegum.  
“Go try it on so it can be altered.” He ordered kindly. Bubblegum unlaced the dress and handed it to Fiona. She pointed to a door opposite them and Fiona nervously stepped through. It was a boudoir. Fiona quickly changed into the dress. It was lighter than she thought it would be. There was no mirror in the boudoir, so Fiona couldn’t see her reflection. Cake was with Fiona (she refused to leave her side), and she gave a small gasp when she saw her.  
“Can you tie this up Cake?” Fiona asked, turning around. Cake tied the lace backing and they both walked out of the room, back into the study. The response was completely unexpected. Every pair of eyes was turned to Fiona the second she walked through the door. Marceline slowly floated back down to the ground, her eyes wide. Marshal Lee abandoned the ribbon and Finn and Jake’s mouths hit the ground. Princess Bubblegum looked at Fiona proudly.  
“Your plan will definitely work.” Prince Gumball whispered to Bubblegum.  
“Will this do?” Fiona asked nervously, feeling vulnerable in the full length gown.   
“Definitely.” Marshal Lee reassured her.  
“You so look like a princess.” Finn said, giving her the thumbs up.   
“Well, the dress does need some adjustments.” Princess Bubblegum admitted. “And some accessories just to finish it off.”   
“We can do that tomorrow, can’t we?” Jake asked, looking nervously outside the window. The sun slowly sank beneath the horizon.   
“Of course. Fiona, do you want to change back into your normal clothes now that we know it fits.” Princess Bubblegum asked. Fiona nodded and changed in the boudoir. She emerged back into the study to find Princess Bubblegum allocating rooms.  
“Why are we having rooms here?” Cake asked, confused.  
“I need to know where everyone is for the plan to work properly. If one person isn’t there, the whole plan could be ruined.” PB explained. “You and Cake will be in the room next to Finn and Jake’s. They’ll show you where it is. Off you go.” She dismissed them with a wave of her hand.   
“Come on you two.” Jake said sleepily. They walked out the study into the corridors.  
Marceline and Marshal Lee stayed. Bubblegum gave them a room to use if they wanted and Marshal went, just to try to relax before tomorrow. Marceline hung back. She turned to bubblegum  
“This plan better work, Bonnibel.” She said, looking worried and threatening. Without another word, Marceline went to the room she shared with Marshal Lee.

“This room’s yours. Sleep tight, and remember, we’re right next door.” Jake said, opening the door of their room for them.  
“Night. See you tomorrow.” Fiona said gratefully, walking into the room and shutting the door behind her. There were two beds. Fiona sat down on one and Cake immediately curled up on her lap. Nobody slept well that night. Marshal Lee and Prince Gumball were worrying about Fiona, since she was one of their closest friends. Marceline couldn’t sleep well because she had to share a room with Marshal, who paced around all night. Princess Bubblegum spent the night finalizing her plan, making sure every last detail was accounted for. Finn and Jake couldn’t sleep; they were too busy worrying about how they would keep their promise. Yes, they had rescued her before, but that was with just the Ice King. Now they were facing two opponents, both of equal strength and equal powers. Cake refused to sleep, just in case something tried to get Fiona while she was sleeping. And Fiona herself; her biggest worry was what if none of them could succeed by the time the signal was done. They had to abandon the plan by that point. Even if worst comes to worst, Fiona thought as she rearranged her pillows for the hundredth time that night, and I am left, they’ll at least have the Ice Queen. Once she’s gone, hopefully, I’ll be safe. 

Morning came and, as instructed, the group came to the study, rubbing their eyes and yawning. Marceline and Marshal Lee were wearing long clothing and hats so the sun couldn’t touch their skin. Once they had all gathered, Princess Bubblegum and Prince Gumball immediately set about organising everyone. Bubblegum shuffled Fiona and Cake into the boudoir to get changed, while Gumball told the group specifically when they were to attack and when they were to leave. Fiona changed once again into the dress and allowed Princess Bubblegum to come in. She then started adding small accessories to the outfit. A thick, powder blue ribbon was tied around Fiona’s waist, with a large flower pinned onto it at her side.  
“You look amazing.” She boasted, taking a step back. “But you don’t look like a princess with your hat on.” Princess Bubblegum too her hat off and started works on her hair. She tied back the long golden locks into a plait and tied a sky blue ribbon around the end. A dainty crown was sitting on the table; Princess Bubblegum carefully placed it on her head, clipping it to strands of hair to hold it in place. “Perfect.” She said, leading her back out of the room. Once again, everyone stared at Fiona in awe. I really must look pretty she thought, since she hadn’t seen herself. Bubblegum pulled a rope and a mirror was revealed. Fiona looked at the reflection, thinking it was someone else. There was no way that this girl in the mirror was average Fiona; she had to be an incredibly pretty princess, one who had a hundred servants to dress her. The crown was small and delicate, but it glittered when Fiona moved. Her hair still fell to the ground, but when it was in a plait, she looked almost older, and taller.  
“So, I guess I’m now a princess,” Fiona said nervously.   
“You certainly look the part.” Cake reassured her. Gumball checked the clock on the wall.  
“Bubblegum, it’s time.” He said gravely. Princess Bubblegum nodded and took Fiona’s hand. She dragged her out of the Castle and into the forest.  
“Now, you need to walk out of the forest in that direction.” She instructed, pointing due north. “The Ice King is on the move and he will see you. I can’t give you much help with what to say. But just try and act as defenceless as you can, continuously. With any luck, he will believe you are an actual princess. Good luck Fiona.” She said, then turned on her heel and ran. Fiona was left, on her own, no weapons or means of defence. She followed Princess Bubblegum’s orders and walked north. The Ice King was flying overhead, and he did see her. Exactly like when he saw her the first time, the Ice King swooped down and collected Fiona, as if she was a toy. On cue, Fiona shouted and begged to be let free, knowing she never would. She relived the dread and imprisonment exactly. The door was locked and she huddled in the corner. This time however, the Ice King stared at her critically.  
“Have I seen you before?” he asked ignorantly.   
“I... I don’t know.” she stuttered, not looking at him.   
“Long blonde hair,” the Ice King muttered, looking at Fiona, trying to piece it all together. “I know you!” he shouted suddenly. Dread prickled across Fiona’s skin. “You’re Fiona the Heroine!” he declared proudly.  
“I... I hoped you wouldn’t remember.” Fiona said, keeping her voice quiet.  
“You don’t look much like a heroine now, do you? Were you lying to me?” he asked suspiciously.   
“I guess you’re right: I don’t look much like a heroine now.” Fiona sniffed, following Princess Bubblegum’s orders.  
“So, are Finn and Jake going to jump out and rescue you again?” the Ice King inquired.  
“I don’t know.” Fiona replied, partly true. “I haven’t spoken to them for days. I haven’t seen anyone.” she lied quickly, proud that she had the guts to do lie to him directly. The sound of heels on ice cracked through the air and the Ice Queen entered the room, looking around in distaste. She saw Fiona huddled in the cage and her nose wrinkled in disgust.  
“Who is this?” she asked snootily.  
“This is Fiona.” The Ice King said, impassively. The effect of these three words was remarkable. Ice Queens face contorted in anger.   
“Give me the key to the prison.” She demanded. The Ice King nervously handed her the key and she unlocked the door with ease. Fiona backed against the wall, not wanting to face her. The Ice Queen stalked up to her and lifted her off the ground by her arm. Fiona’s heart pounded painfully against her ribcage. She turned her face away from the Ice Queen, partly from fear and partly so she couldn’t see who she actually was.   
“What’s wrong?” The Ice King asked nervously. A snarl formed on the Ice Queen’s mouth.  
“Throw her in the dungeon!” she ordered, throwing Fiona out of the prison door onto the floor. She fell awkwardly on her side.   
“What?” the Ice King demanded.  
“Lock her in the dungeon and throw away the key. Never let her out.” The Ice Queen repeated. The Ice King didn’t move for a few moments then lifted Fiona and flew down the spiral staircase. He opened one of the dungeon cells and put Fiona on the ground inside of it. He locked the door, turned and left, never saying a word. Fiona wasn’t surprised at this. The Ice Queen really hated her and Cake. I mean; truly loathed her. In truth, Fiona thought the Ice Queen would be much worse to her. Footsteps sounded on the echoing stairs and for a moment, Fiona thought it was her rescue party. Of course, it wasn’t anyone of the sort. The Ice Queen appeared in front of Fiona’s cell door and turned the key in the lock. She opened the door. Fear began coursing through Fiona’s veins.   
“It’s time to move you somewhere a bit more... discreet.” She hissed. “Your friends are causing a lot of trouble.”  
Fiona was held in place by fear. What’s weird was, even though she had been in countless, life-threatening situation before and none of them had made her feel more vulnerable than she did now. Where could she go, she was trapped inside this cell. She had no weapons to defend herself. She was wearing a full length dress that would be awful to run away in. Her chances of escaping were every slim. The Ice Queen forced her to her feet. She caught Fiona’s wrist and forced her to follow. Fiona knew better than to resist too much, she was trying to act defenceless anyway, so she followed; accepting defeat. The Ice Queen lead her even deeper into the mountain, far deeper than Fiona thought she could go. Old fashioned torches lit the way, held in place by iron brackets fixed to the wall. The spiral steps went on forever, it seemed, Fiona stumbled and the ribbon around her waist caught on something and came undone completely. Before she even had the chance to collect it, the Ice Queen dragged her forwards. The ribbon landed on top of one of the metal brackets and twinkled in the firelight. They still went further into the ground, but eventually, they stopped. A lone, tight cell waited directly at the end of the stairs. The air was so cold; it stole all the heat from the flame torches. Fiona was thrown to the ground inside the cell, which knocked the air out of her lungs.  
“Let’s see if you’re alive in the morning.” The Ice Queen snarled, fleeing, but not before she bolted and double locked the door. That sentence paralyzed Fiona. For ages, she just stayed hugging her knees, thinking of all the times she could have died but didn’t. There were so many to choose from.   
“How have I lived this long?” Fiona asked aloud, curling up tighter into a little ball. The heavy air pressed against her lungs. She leaned against the wall and prayed someone would find her quickly. The surroundings slowly leeched her body heat. Slowly, Fiona closed her eyes.

Meanwhile, the second part of the plan was going well. Princess Bubblegum watched the Ice King carry Fiona to his Ice Palace, and heard her screams as well. She reported back to the rest of the group and they took their positions. The vampires were going to attempt to gain access through a door on ground level that was attached to a straight up tunnel. Jake and Finn were going to enter through the window and, of course, Princess Bubblegum and Prince Gumball were using the secret passage they worked out earlier. Finn and Jake watched as Fiona was lifted off the ground by the Ice Queen. They saw her being transported to the dungeons, and Jake had to stop Finn from jumping in and beating them right then.   
“Wait for the signal.” Jake warned, pulling Finn under the window ledge. Three pulses of bright green light split the air. Finn and Jake climbed smoothly into the room, swords drawn. Ice King and Queen stared at them for a second then began to fight back. Marceline and Marshal Lee burst into the room, Marceline with her axe bass, Marshal Lee with his own double-sided axe guitar. They headed towards the fight, full throttle.   
“Get his crown.” Finn ordered. They all tried to attack the Ice King and Queen, while dodging their ice blocks. Suddenly, they realised the Ice Queen was missing. She had escaped! They were stunned for a split second, only returning to their senses when Marshal Lee was nearly frozen by the Ice King. Finn saw the doorway which Fiona was lead down and left the group, desperate to keep his promise. “COVER ME!” He ran down the stairs full pelt, only stopping when the stairs levelled out. He looked around and saw the dungeon cells. A single one was open, but it didn’t contain Fiona. None of them did. Finn looked around in desperation and suddenly heard footsteps coming up the stairs. He ducked into one of the cells just as the Ice Queen stalked up the stairs that were concealed extremely well. In a moment of madness, Finn jumped out of the cell and challenged the Ice Queen.  
“What have you done to Fiona?!” he shouted, his voice echoing ominously.   
“Who are you?” the Ice queen asked, startled.  
“Finn! Fiona’s double! Now, what have you done to her?!” he exclaimed, drawing his sword. The Ice Queen’s palms lit up electric blue.   
“She’s locked away where she’ll never leave. It’s useless.” The Ice Queen declared throwing thick shards of ice at Finn. He expertly blocked them with his sword.   
“It’s never pointless to be the hero!” Finn exclaimed, running at the Ice Queen. She ducked as Finn leapt up. Finn skidded along the icy ground and spun around on his heel. The Ice Queen stepped towards Finn but collapsed to the ground. Princess Bubblegum was standing behind her; spray raised, hand on her hip.  
“Really Finn?” she asked sarcastically. The Ice Queen lay in a crumpled heap on the solid ground. Prince Gumball was standing behind Princess Bubblegum, a slightly frightened look on his face. Just to be on the safe side, Princess Bubblegum sprayed the Ice Queen several more times. Finn looked at her expectantly. “You can go be the hero now, Finn.” She said, smiling. Finn located the second stretch of stairs and ran down as fast as he could. About halfway down, he saw Fiona’s ribbon, shining brightly against the wall, the flower pinned to it dying slowly in the heat of the fire. Finn yanked it down and continued running, safe with the knowledge that he was on the right track. He reached the doors to the deepest dungeon. Fiona was leaning against the wall, eyes closed, and her lips growing steadily blue. She didn’t respond to Finn calling her name. Desperate for some way to get her out of that dungeon, Finn had a stroke of brilliance. He raised his battered sword and smashed all the locks and bolt off the door itself. It swung open lazily and Finn ran to Fiona, who still didn’t respond. He was terrified now. The promise rang out in his mind. Finn was still with shock. He didn’t move, and he heard a small, weak *thump, thump*. Fiona’s heart was still beating. She was still alive! Finn, giddy with relief, scooped up Fiona, threw his sword in his bag and ran back up the stairs. It was the cold that got her he thought as he ran back to the others. The first level of dungeons arrived and Finn couldn’t see anyone, so he assumed they’d made it to the rendezvous point. The fighting was still going on upstairs, so Finn ran up the last steps and emerged back into the room. He’d barely taken a step when three blasts of a whistle and three pulses of light bounced around the room. Everyone froze and the group retreated. Finn struggled to get to the window in time, since as soon as the Ice King had seen him; he’d started blasting ice chunks in his path. Jake stretched his arm out, wound it around both Finn and Fiona and pulled them out of the window and onto his back. Marceline and Marshal Lee, covered by clothing so the sun couldn’t reach them, zoomed across the sky to Jake and Finn’s tree house.  
Cake wasn’t allowed to be a part of the rescue team, and she didn’t disagree with them. Cake was back at the tree house, awaiting their return. She saw the vampires fly to the ground and opened the door for them. Not long after, Princess Bubblegum and Prince Gumball arrived, carrying an unconscious Ice Queen between them. They wound rope around her and quickly ran to hide her in the Candy Kingdom. They weren’t gone long, and now they didn’t have to worry about the Ice Queen, anyway.   
It was a long time before Finn and Jake turned up though. Cake began pacing the room, fretting and going through every possible scenario in her head, most of them bad. Outside, Jake shrank down and ran the last stretch to the house. Finn was too preoccupied with making sure Fiona didn’t fall off (or die really) that he didn’t notice they’d stopped. He gingerly lifted Fiona off Jake’s back and carried her in to the tree house. Jake ran ahead and opened the doors for him. Everyone looked as Finn carried Fiona in and laid her on the couch.   
“What happened?” Cake demanded, looking at Fiona with fear in her eyes.  
“The Ice Queen locked her in a freezing dungeon.” Finn explained briefly. “I don’t know how long she was locked down there, but I found her slowly freezing...” he trailed off, unable to finish that sentence. Cake ran out the room and returned carrying all the blankets she could find. They covered Fiona with them. Marshal Lee wouldn’t stay still; he got up and paced every few minutes then sat back down and then started pacing again. Prince Gumball was acting odd too; but he just sat and watched Fiona, completely silent. Time passed and Fiona didn’t wake.   
“Jake, do you have any hot water bottles?” Cake asked desperately.  
“I think so, hold on.” He stretched up the stairs and came back down holding three full water bottles. “Here you go.” He handed them to Cake and Finn. They laced them between the layers of blankets and it was clear the added warmth helped. Slowly the blue faded from her lips and her breathing became stronger. They all watched in anticipation, desperately praying she would wake up. They were so silent, Fiona’s heartbeat was audible, and they heard it beating more confidently. Her eyes fluttered open but no one said a word. Fiona looked around in utter disbelief.  
“I’m not dead, am I?” she asked quietly. Cake threw herself around Fiona’s neck and hugged her tight. Fiona wrapped her arm around Cake and held her close. “I thought I’d never see you again.” She whispered in Cake’s ear. Tears escaped from Fiona’s eyes. Cake finally released her and Fiona looked around at the rest of them. She beckoned Finn over to her. He walked over nervously and was pulled into a hug by Fiona.   
“Thank you for keeping your promise.” She whispered gratefully to him.  
“A true hero keeps his word.”Finn whispered back. Fiona hugged him tighter, thankful for him saving her life when she was sure it was gone. Jake joined in the hug, not wanting to be left out. Fiona was glad to have them as her and Cake’s doubles. They broke apart and Fiona looked around at the rest of them. Marceline tried to look as if she didn’t care but she was silently relieved that she survived. Princess Bubblegum was indulging in the success of her plan (even if it nearly did involve the death of someone). Marshal Lee was the same as Marceline but Prince Gumball was simply thankful. Fiona, even though they didn’t know she existed until a few days ago, had become to mean quite alot to the gang, if not more to some of them. 

They all stood in two lines, (one for Aaa, one that one going to stay) facing their double. The only exception was the Ice Queen who was unconscious at the end of the lines. The Ice King’s book lay open on the floor, just as it did before. Final goodbyes were said. Fiona stepped forwards and embraced Finn.  
“Again, thanks for saving my life.” Fiona said, releasing Finn.  
“No problem. Stay safe.” He punched her arm in a friendly way and went back into the lines. Everyone didn’t want to see their doubles leave.  
“Are you ready to leave?” Jake asked the girls.  
“I dunno. This place had sort of grown on me.” Cake said, looking around wistfully.  
“We don’t belong here though. And I didn’t risk my life not to go back home. We’ll miss you guys.” Fiona reminded them. Princess Bubblegum came down the line of all the people of Aaa and handed them a small amount of the serum.   
“Okay, when you’re ready, pour the serum over your head. This will transport you back to the Land of Aaa.” She instructed. Immediately, she walked over to the Ice Queen and put a few drops on her head. A bright light shone, a small *pop* and she was gone. One by one, they poured the liquid over their heads and left Ooo forever.   
“See you back in Aaa.” Prince Gumball said to Fiona and Cake. He tilted the beaker over his head and was gone.  
“Oh.” Finn exclaimed, just as Fiona was going to transport herself back. “Here’s your crystal sword. I’ve been meaning to give it back but I forgot.” He apologised sheepishly, handing over the small pink crystal.   
“Thanks. Don’t forget us.” Fiona said, slipping the crystal into her backpack.  
“We won’t.” Finn promised. They smiled at each other and turned away shyly. Cake grasped Fiona’s hand and they both tipped the serum over their heads. It was an odd experience for both parties. One moment, they were standing facing each other; the next Finn and Jake were looking at nothing. Fiona and Cake landed on the ground with a thump. They were outside the tree house. It was almost as if they’d never left. Finn and Jake however, suddenly realised how much the girls had grown on them. The feeling was the same for Fiona and Cake. But somehow, without words, they seemed to agree to treat it like a dream.

When all of the occupants of Aaa had gone back to where they truly belonged, they remaining people just looked at the book. All the pages were filled with writing.   
“What are we going to do with the book?” Marceline asked. Nobody seemed to really know.  
“What if we burn it?” Peppermint Butler suggested, standing in the doorway, watching it all unfold.  
“No. Who knows what that’ll do to the people?” Princess Bubblegum replied.  
“Do you mind if we keep it?” Jake asked, walking towards it.  
“Why should you get it?” Marceline said curiously.  
“We were the ones who found them in the first place.” Jake protested, picking up the book and holding it to his chest.  
“It’s the Ice King’s though. Shouldn’t it go back to him?” Finn said fairly.  
“But isn’t he magic? He could find a way to get the characters out and then we probably would have an even worse situation on our hands.” Princess Bubblegum protested. “Why don’t we keep it in the Palace study, where the plan to get them back was perfected?” she suggested, looking around at them all.  
“Seems fair.” Finn agreed.  
“Alright.” Marceline said grumpily.  
“Are we allowed to read it any time?” Jake asked, handing it over to Princess Bubblegum.  
“Of course. I’ll go put this where it will be kept safe.” She replied, walking out of the room. The remaining people looked at each other awkwardly.  
“Is it weird that I’ll miss them?” Marceline asked, acting nonchalantly.  
“I guess so.” Finn said, thinking the same thoughts. “Do you think they’ll miss us?”   
“Maybe.” Jake muttered. “Fiona said she’d miss us.” He pointed out.  
“Well, they certainly left a lasting impression on us.” Marceline said indifferently. “And we left an impression them. Particularly Princess Bubblegum.” She couldn’t resist slipping in that snide comment.   
“Marceline!” Princess Bubblegum exclaimed from the doorway. Marceline looked at her in a bored way.   
“Hey Princess.” She drawled. Princess Bubblegum looked as if she was going to retaliate but chose not to.   
“Did you put the book away?” Finn asked, trying to defuse the situation.   
“Yes. Now everything can go back to normal.” Princess Bubblegum said, clapping her hands in a satisfied matter. 

Finn and Jake lay awake that night. Neither knew the other was awake or not, so they lay in silence. So did almost everyone else in Ooo. Many of them were speculating was on Earth had happened and who all those people were. Everyone who had met and knew their double was silently missing them.  
The same will be said for everyone that lived in the Land of Aaa. Many of them had no idea what happened but were more than willing to forget about it, and quickly. However, the people who had understood what happened (a.k.a Fiona, Cake, Prince Gumball and Marshal Lee) were thinking it all over. It was possibly the most fantastic adventure any of them had ever been on, and they weren’t going to forget it in a hurry.


End file.
